Reprogramming Filamentous fd Viruses to Capture Copper Ions

C-terminal truncated variants (A, VA, NVA, ANVA, FANVA and GFANVA) of our recently identified Cu(II) specific peptide "HGFANVA" were displayed on filamentous fd phages. Wild type fd-tet and engineered virus variants were treated with 100 mM Cu(II) solution at a final phage concentration of 10¹¹ vir/ml and 10¹² vir/ml. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging before Cu(II) exposure showed ≈6-8 nm thick filamentous virus layer formation. Cu(II) treatment resulted in aggregated bundle-like assemblies with mineral deposition. HGFANVA phage formed aggregates with an excessive mineral coverage. As the virus concentration was 10-fold decreased, nanowire-like assemblies were observed for shorter peptide variants A, NVA and ANVA. Wild type fd phages did not show any mineral formation. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analyses revealed the presence of C and N peaks on phage organic material. Cu peak was only detected for engineered viruses. Metal ion binding of viruses was next investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses. Engineered viruses were able to bind Cu(II) forming mineralized intertwined structures although no His (H) unit was displayed. Such genetically reprogrammed virus based biological materials can be further applied for bioremediation studies to achieve a circular economy.